Posted on 05/25/2010 9:51:49 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
While the U.S. Air Force is mum about the orbital whereabouts of its X-37B mini-space plane, a dedicated band of amateur skywatchers has got its cross-hairs on the spacecraft.
The unpiloted X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 1 was lofted on April 22 atop an Atlas launcher. It is being flown under the auspices of the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
In U.S. military tracking parlance, when the space plane reached orbit it became identified as Catalog Number 36514, 2010-015A, OTV-1 (USA 212). From there it entered a cone of silence regarding any on-orbit duties.
But thanks to a worldwide eyes-on-the-sky network of amateurs, the spacecraft is reportedly in a 39.99 degrees inclination, circling the Earth in an orbit 401 kilometers by 422 kilometers. This data may change slightly as the vehicle's orbit is better refined, said Greg Roberts of Cape Town, South Africa, a pioneer in using telescopic video cameras to track spacecraft, chalking up exceptional results over the years.
The Air Force has not said what the robotic ship is for, but analysts say the X-37B is likely a spy craft and almost surely not a weapon. Absolute confidence
Roberts said that those sighting the craft have "absolute confidence" in their observations, claiming no chance of it being anything else. "The fact that we have now seen it several times confirms that the orbit we have is very close to the real orbit -- perhaps an error of a few kilometers or so at most," he told SPACE.com. "One of our North American members got a brief view of what was suspected to be the space plane under somewhat difficult circumstances before it was no longer visible in the evening sky from the United States," Roberts said.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
LOL, ya gotta love space geeks!
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Secret Space Plane X-37B
The US Air Force’s experimental space plane has been found by the world-wide network of amateur satellite observers. Please see the link below for predictions. This object
is in an orbit with 40 degrees inclination, so it will not be easily visible if you are located more than about 45 degress north or south of the equator.
X-37B predicted visible passes.
http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=36514&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=CET
Heavens Above is a great resource
I just wonder if the X-37B might be up there doing some looking around at the satellites of other countries to see if there are some dangerous things hanging on them.
Just a question . . .
space ping
I would think that “examining” other satellites would be one of its mission. It does have a cargo bay.
Sounds like what people claim aliens do to them. Anal probe in the cargo bay.
The satellites though will not be in orbit with a limp.
An orbit of that eccentricity and inclination means it’s almost certainly tasked with reconnaissance, or perhaps servicing of reconnaissance satellites.
The ability to conduct orbital maneuvers is critical for reconnaissance satellites, which is one reason our intel birds are so huge — they have to carry lots of thruster fuel so they can maneuver to where they need to be. The USAF is trumpeting the possible use of resuables like X-37 to refuel and repair spy sats. What the Air Force won’t tell you is that the X-37 also has capabilities unique to spaceplanes: a winged spacecraft like the X-37 can not only fly standard orbits, it can also dip into the atmosphere and use its aero surfaces to make change-of-plane and other high-energy orbital maneuvers without using fuel.
That is the stupidest thing that I have heard in a while. If a new space plane was launched, it is not being used as a spy satellite. We have a spy satellites that spy already. That is why they are called spy satellites.
Nobody knows the true mission of the X-37 because its classified.
I think it’s carrying obama’s birth certificate.
All the $$$ we spend defense weapons, but the politicans on the ground seek to turn this into a socialist/marxist/communist nation or a muslim one and to hell with our Country. Can you guess I’m refering to democRATS??
MI Ping
yea, I checked them and I don’t think I can see it with MAG they have listed...29th is my best best with a 2.9, seen old booster stages with worse numbers than that
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